In the times we live, life is punctuated by movement, and movement is propelled by speed. We receive images, ideas, information faster than ever before. In the chaos of this ever-increasing intensity come thoughts, ideas, memories and sensations that cascade through us in turbulent waves like a storm at sea.
It’s easy to feel disconnected, shipwrecked, adrift. For a brief moment (10 April) the sheer force of The Ocean Collective, Caligula’s Horse and Lo! evaporated the state of disarray. The internal turbulence subsided. At times it was like floating on a calm sea, at times like being ravaged by merciless waves. The infinite depth and scope of The Ocean made it seem that when faced with the gargantuan size and fury of nature, some things aren’t so fucking important.
This was a really hard to review to write. Usually at a gig I am furiously typing, scribbling notes, thinking of references, track names, taking in all the peripheral details and formulating words to turn into stories to turn into reviews. But this set, breathtaking in its scope, completely paralysed me.
Click here for photos from the show.
I was visually and ideologically drawn to the concept of being pulled deep into the ocean by the intensity and depth of the sound. I could do nothing but stand and watch, to take it in, to feel myself at once completely moved and completely devoid of emotion.
Opening band Lo! perfectly established the mood of experimental eeriness during their 40-minute set. The Sydney-based act have been touring extensively recently, and played the gig with a drummer who filled in and learned the set in under two days.
Lo! Image - © Kim RudnerThe intensity of the vocalist with that darkness in his eyes, combined with the bassist’s wild rock star thrashing created a dark, doom-laden and progressive sonic atmosphere. The room was completely packed which is often rare for the first opening band, and the crowd responded instinctively to this first in a series of mind-altering sets played over the night.
Brisbane based Caligula’s Horse have made their mark touring Australia and previously headlining gigs at The Factory Floor. The atmosphere they create is messy, psychedelic, chaotic yet cohesive; with punk drum elements and a good thumping kick drum sound.
Caligula's Horse - Image © Kim RudnerAll three acts that played complemented and related to each other while still managing to each remain unique and innovative in their approach to progressive metal. Then it was time to become immersed in the depths of the deep darkness that was The Ocean Collective.
They enthralled with time signatures that were completely abstract, vocals with a huge range and scope, playing songs from their new album ‘Pelagial', the experience was like being lost in the depths of the deep darkness, punctuated by incredible sadness but intensely uplifting and powerful at the same time.
The Ocean - Image © Kim RudnerThe Ocean have followed in Mastodon’s steps of producing a progressive, conceptual album. Like the genre-shifting ‘Leviathan’, the richness of the concepts behind ‘Pelagial’ and the potency of its imagery on stage created an intense raw energy in the live set.
It’s a conceptual album which mesmerisingly explores the idea about sinking deep into the ocean. This is reflected in the songs slowing down and getting darker and heavier at times, shifting from a gentle, melodic caress to the sense of being clawed at by a demonic sea beast. The light show means for a time you perceive the world in deep blues, blacks and reds. The visual projections traced the transition and immersion of the body in all its forms.
The Ocean - Image © Kim RudnerHopefully without sounding like I was partaking in hallucinogenic experimentation prior to the gig, the three sets were dizzyingly mind-altering. It's music that slows your brain, makes your thoughts subside and strips you bare to the very essence of what it means to be a human in the natural world: corporal, naked, fluid, being immersed and consumed by nature, cells developing, expanding, floating, plunging deep, deep down, losing your breath and sinking into the abyss.
Click here for photos from the show.
